Celebrating David Villa Scoring Goals
New York City FC captain David Villa scored his 400th career goal for club and country tonight against FC Dallas
New York City FC captain David Villa scored his 400th career goal for club and country tonight against FC Dallas from the penalty spot in the 36th minute.
This was Villa’s 68th goal in City colors, having scored for six other clubs across the globe as well as the Spanish national team.
Number 400 puts him in a highly respected class of current footballers: Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Los Angeles Galaxy’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic are the only other playing footballers to score as many times as Villa.
At the next home match vs Colorado on Saturday, May 19th, there will be a pre-match ceremony to honor David’s achievement and the first 10,000 fans through the gate will receive a captain’s armband.
David Villa Goals by team:
- Valencia CF – 129
- New York City FC – 68
- Spanish National Team – 59
- FC Barcelona – 48
- Sporting Gijon – 41
- Real Zaragoza – 38
- Atletico Madrid – 15
- Melbourne City – 2
David Villa Player Milestones:
- 1st Professional Goal – 10/10/01 vs Real Oviedo
- 100th Professional Goal – 03/19/06 vs Racing Santander
- 200th Professional Goal – 04/19/09 vs Sevilla
- 300th Professional Goal – 11/28/12 vs Alaves
- 400th Professional Goal – 04/29/18 vs FC Dallas
David Villa has scored…
- Against 118 different clubs and countries
- Against 19 different countries’ club teams
- Against 35 different clubs in Spain
- On 6 of 7 continents
- 9 hat tricks for club and country
- 16 goals vs Sevilla – most vs any opponent
- 74 penalties for club and country
NYCFC’s first signing, Villa has been instrumental in the Club’s success since inception. Here is Villa’s record looking back:
David Villa at NYCFC
Villa first goal for the Club came on March 15, 2015 in his first MLS match in Yankee Stadium in the 19th minute against the New England Revolution in a 2-0 victory. Villa played a tidy one-two with Ned Grabavoy and dribbled past Revolution defenders to calmly slot the ball into the back of the net.
In 2016, Villa captured MLS MVP honors after scoring 23 goals en route to NYCFC’s first playoff appearance and became the first player in MLS history to score 20 goals in back-to-back seasons, finishing the 2017 campaign with 22 goals.
David Villa at Sporting Gijon
El Guaje (“The Kid”) quickly established himself as a lethal asset in front of goal for Sporting Gijon, his first professional team based in his native Asturias. Villa became a local legend netting his first professional goal in an Asturian Derby match against Real Oviedo in the Copa del Rey. A few weeks later, his first professional league goal came on October 21st, 2001 against Gimnastic de Tarragona in the Spanish Segunda Division. That season, his first full season professional, Villa scored 18 times for Sporting Gijon. The next season, Villa scored 20 league goals for the first time in his career and his form led to a transfer to La Liga side Real Zaragoza at season’s end.
David Villa at Real Zaragoza
His introduction to Spain’s first division was successful right from the start. Seventeen goals in his first season put Villa in the running for the Pichichi Trophy, awarded to La Liga’s top scorer. His goal scoring record at Zaragoza put in him the same category as Brazilian legend Ronaldo and future Spain teammate Fernando Torres, amongst others.
David Villa at Valencia CF & Spanish National Team
After his second season in Zaragoza, and another double-digit goal tally, Villa was on the move again to Valencia CF. In his first season there, he scored 25 league goals, one shy of Samuel Eto’o for the Pichichi.
At Valencia is where Villa’s international career took off. A few months after his transfer to Valencia, El Guaje was called into the Spanish national team for the first time. Villa scored his first goal for La Roja in a World Cup qualifying against Slovakia on November 16th, 2005.
As the goals continued for flow in for Villa at Valencia, he was called up to the 2006 World Cup team where he netted a brace in his World Cup debut against Ukraine. He found the back of the net again in the Round of 16 match against France and ended as joint top scorer for his nation with three goals.
With already a stronghold on a starting spot in Spain’s starting XI, Villa was influential in Spain’s run to the Euro 2008 title, their first major piece of silverware since 1964. Villa’s four goals were enough to see him awarded the Golden Boot, given to the tournament’s top scorer.
David Villa at 2010 World Cup & FC Barcelona
Villa moved to Barcelona in 2010 prior to the World Cup and what a World Cup it was. El Guaje was joint top scorer in South Africa with game-winning goals against Portugal and Paraguay in the knockout stages keeping Spain’s World Cup dreams alive.
After winning the greatest trophy the game can offer, Villa won nearly every single piece of silverware available for a player to win at the club level. At Barcelona, Villa scored 48 goals and won two La Liga titles, the Copa del Rey, two Supercopas de Espana, the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Champions Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
David Villa at Atletico Madrid & Melbourne City
The success continued for a season at Atletico Madrid where Villa scored 13 league goals en route to another La Liga title, Atletico’s first since the 1995-96 campaign. It was after that final triumph in Spain, that Villa made the move to New York City, with a loan-spell in Melbourne in between.
Source: NYCFC Press Release
